Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Using An LMS As a Network Drive

Ran across a video describing how to get the WebDAV info in CE6 (aka Blackboard Vista 4 Lite) for the purpose of using CE6 as a network drive.

The narrator says this is a good idea because if the site has good policies, then backups are being made. In the event of a site disaster, you can recover your files from it.

This is a HORRIBLE idea.

  1. An LMS is unlikely to be sized in such a way to store backups of all user content. The IT administration will end up buying more expensive storage for CE6 than for other desktop backup solutions.
  2. By placing content unrelated to classes, you will contribute to making the CE6 site slower.
  3. The IT administration will not be able to recover a single file for you should you make a mistake. They will have to restore the whole database, place a CE6 web server in front of it, and get the one file for you. Its a more expensive investment in time to recover your content.

Use a backup system to do backups. Use a online instruction system to instruct.

Ezra S F

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2 responses to “Using An LMS As a Network Drive”

  1. LauraG Avatar
    LauraG

    I saw the same youtube horror….thought the poster was a lunatic.

    Reply
  2. steve Avatar
    steve

    I disagree, it’s a great idea for the average faculty member or student who hasn’t a clue how to spell scp or ftps. But if it’s done for general use (and there’s no admonitions against that) you’re right on the money: the admins of that enterprise LMS would put more money into storage for their LMS, when what the campus really needs is a network file store.

    But the video is priceless: I want to know how the speaker managed to interface a manual typewriter w/ his PC 🙂

    Reply

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